UNStudio and USM’s participatory project The WorkHouse is now open

The six week laboratory

On Friday, June 1, 2018, Swiss furniture brand USM in cooperation with UNStudio, opened The WorkHouse at the Wehrmühle Biesenthal in the outskirts of Berlin.

The WorkHouse is a participatory project, a laboratory for the discovery, development and formulation of new working models as a source of inspiration for design, where participants are invited to come play, explore and experiment with us.

From June 1st to July 15, the country estate Wehrmühle Biesenthal, located 45 minutes north of Berlin, will be transformed into a test laboratory. For six weeks, theses on working in the future, from the post-work utopia to the concept in which work and life blend together, will be set up, reviewed and discussed. Based on this experience, the participants will formulate new working models with the goal of finding out how design can provide future solutions for new forms of organisation and the demands of the working world.

Installation by UNStudio

UNStudio has designed a room-filling installation using USM modules that dissolves the boundaries of furniture and its traditional functions. Throughout the duration of The WorkHouse, the installation will become a walk-in space for working together, eating together, sharing creative discourse, or simply relaxing with views of the surrounding natural reserve.

After the exclusive preview for invited guests on June 1, USM and UNStudio hosted the OpenHouse on Saturday, June 2, featuring lectures and workshops, and inviting attendees to discover the Installation and The WorkHouse.

PlayLabs – Two-day workshops for developing visions of the future:

In June, USM and UNStudio will host the PlayLabs in The WorkHouse. Three workshops, each with six participants, are led by Tellart, the award-winning design studio in Amsterdam. During each two-day workshop, participants from various disciplines will design possible scenarios in small teams from four perspectives: Function, space, human idiosyncrasies as well as work and everyday routines.

A total of six participants will be selected for each PlayLab. Experts from a range of disciplines including psychology, anthropology, business, design and technology will be selected by USM.

Participate in the dialogue – stay overnight in The WorkHouse via Airbnb:

If you would like to experience The WorkHouse yourself and participate in the dialogue about the future of work and design, you can book a stay in one of the six guest rooms on non-event days. Designed as a co-working and co-living space, visitors can experiment with what it is like to combine living and working, either individually or as part of a team. In return, each guest will simply leave behind their vision of the working world of the future in the form of drawings, sketches, videos or text messages. The stay itself can be booked free of charge upon request, except for the token amount of 8 euros and airbnb’s processing fee.